Baldwin: I'm proud to be a progressive

Senate candidate says more still needs to be done on the jobless rate

Oct. 6, 2012

U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin visited Appleton on Friday to speak to Disabled American Veterans members at the group's fall conference. She met with Gannett Wisconsin Media editors to discuss the race against Republican Tommy Thompson. / Wm. Glasheen/Gannett Wisconsin Media

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APPLETON — Democratic Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin wouldn’t go so far as to call herself “liberal,” but outlined what she said is a proud progressive tradition in Wisconsin.

“Fighting Bob La Follette stood up to fight the monopolies of the day and wanted people to have a stronger voice,” Baldwin said Friday. “We have the same powerful interests today who think they can write their own rules in Washington … I consider myself a progressive and a fighter who’s not afraid to stand up to those interests.”

Baldwin sat down with Gannett Wisconsin Media editors Friday for a wide-ranging interview about her candidacy against Republican Tommy Thompson. The two are vying for the seat that became open following the retirement of Democrat Herb Kohl. The election is Nov. 6.

She said there is still work to be done to lower U.S. unemployment, which on Friday dropped below 8 percent for the first time in nearly four years.

“It’s not enough, it’s still too high” Baldwin said. “Even if people are going back to work, they’re often in a job paying much less than the one they lost four years ago, or it’s involuntary part-time employment.”

Baldwin took the opportunity to highlight her plan to eliminate subsidies to Chinese paper companies — something she says has harmed the Wisconsin economy.

On foreign policy, Baldwin said she takes the threat of a nuclear weapon held by Iran “very seriously.” She prescribes to President Barack Obama’s notion that “all options are on the table” to deal with Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the growing death toll in Syria.

“When we make decisions about use (of) military force, we cannot make mistakes of the previous administration of going to war without a definition of victory, of success and of achieving our goals and we can’t go without an exit strategy,” Baldwin said.

On her legislative accomplishments, Baldwin cited a vision equity law that improved benefits for injured veterans and a law that pushed for earlier detection of cervical cancer.

She said the “Tea Party majority” was the primary reason the Farm Bill failed to pass this fall, jeopardizing subsidies for Wisconsin farmers.

“This should not be a partisan area. I’ve worked with (U.S. Rep.) Mike Pence of Indiana on something called Farm Flex,” Baldwin said. “I’ve worked with (U.S. Sen. Chuck) Grassley of Iowa on farmer bankruptcy provisions …We’ve got to move behind this.”

On Social Security, Baldwin said she is against a plan to privatize the system that is facing financial insolvency before 2050.

“Social Security has in no way contributed to our national debt and deficit,” Baldwin said. “It should be entirely off the table as we talk about how to respond to our deficit. We have time to put together a way of addressing this.”